When his little sister, Alice, starts school, Tom is resentful. “It won’t be as bad as you think,” says Dad, but Tom doesn’t want to hear it. Throughout Alice’s first day, he ignores her when he can, and sends her away in tears when she dares to approach him on the playground. But when another little boy takes Alice’s teddy bear, Tom is by his sister’s side in an instant, deftly interceding on her behalf. When Dad picks them up after school, Alice is over the moon with happiness about her big brother, and Tom can’t suppress the smallest of smiles, clearly feeling proud. A realistic sibling situation is given an appealing treatment by author/illustrator Sally Grindley in a book that will also resonate for children being raised by a father in single-parent families. (Ages 4–7)

Her brother, Tom, will look after her, Alice’s father tells her the night before school. But Tom is not happy to have his little sister accompany him and does not want to have anything to do with her when she runs excitedly to him in the playground at lunchtime. However, Tom shows he can be the protective big brother (and even gives her a kiss) when another boy has Al ice’s teddy bear. Lively, colorful illustrations (double-spread and full-page) foreground characters and their emotions and imply a sense of continuous motion as the children walk, run, and interact with each other . Author won the 2004 Gold Nestlé Children’s Book Prize. hc

Originally published by Bloomsbury Great Britain, in 2005.